Latest Posts

Metric

June 24, 2015

If any of our readers are avid listeners of 102.1 or 107.7, you are probably familiar with Metric, a band that has evolved into a cornerstone of the alternative format. Having formed in Toronto, the Canadian alt-synth-poppers have been Buffalo favorites since their breakout debut in 2003. Over the past decade, frontwoman Emily Haines and co. have scored several great hits, including (but definitely not limited to): “Combat Baby,” “Help I’m Alive,” “Gimme Sympathy,” and “Gold, Guns, Girls.” Tonight, Metric is playing quite the gig. They are opening for the kings of dad-rock, Imagine Dragons… On the bright side, guests won’t have to suffer through their 5000th listen of “Radioactive” before catching what is sure to be a great set from Metric. The show is at the First Niagara Center, doors are at 6pm, and tickets are $59.50, $49.50, and $29.50. We’re so excited, our hearts are beating like a hammer!

Quiet Country Audio

June 20, 2015

For the second year in a row, our buddies over at Quiet Country Audio have curated a wonderful showcase for our Herd Fest festivities… They have handpicked a collection of acts that have worked in or recorded with QCA. Tonight’s show will feature the garage-pop of MAGS and their close, albeit hardcore-influenced buddies in The Slums. Rounding out the evening are the grungemen in The Soft Love, the alt-rockers The Naturalists, and American Low. Just like the rest of Herd Fest, entrance is free with an official Herd Fest wristband. Otherwise, DBGB’s will be collecting a reasonable $5 for your entrance fee. Tonight’s showcase starts at 10:00pm. See you on Allen.

Just Announced: Title Fight

June 15, 2015

Title Fight is a polarizing band. Their newest record, Hyperview, eschews the melodic hardcore/punk that their fanbase was built upon for chorus-drenched guitars and far-off vocals. But cries of indie-crossover have fallen upon deaf ears here at buffaBLOG, and we’re sure their stop through Buffalo will be a raucous time for punks and shoegazers alike. Rounding out the evening will be a set from the still-buzzing indie wunderkinds in Alex G. The show is all the way out on October 23rd, but sometimes these things tend to sell out. You can grab tickets starting this Friday at 10am for $15 or $17 if you wait until the day of.

The Traditional Posts Somewhere Sessions

June 15, 2015

Our buddies in The Traditional are in a pretty permanent state of touring. This time around, their travels brought them, well… somewhere, where they performed an acoustic song for the Somewhere Sessions crew. They chose “My Brother Is The Sea” from their debut full-length, How To Live Without Blood, which came out earlier this year on Anchor Eighty Four Records. Of particular note is the group’s innate ability to harmonize over a lone acoustic guitar (see chorus). Check it out below.

Tonight: Humble Braggers

June 13, 2015

After a dreary day of shopping for flower sprinklers and silhouette cut-outs at the Allentown Art Festival, you’d best find yourself at Mohawk Place this evening. Humble Braggers will be releasing their excellent new EP, Disposable Friends, full of lush synth-heavy tunes a la Passion Pit or Joywave. This release is the next strong contender to come from record label Admirable Traits. Rounding out the night are two newish Buffalo bands, the ex-ICSM led THICK WINTER BLUD and The National-esque Sixties Future, as well as the Rochester synthmasters in Sea Planes. All in all, tonight should be an incredible show. Doors are at 8:00pm and $8 gets you in – don’t forget, that admission price comes with a copy of Disposable Friends. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/202715178″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Tonight: The Early November

May 30, 2015

These damn bands from 2004-06 keep going on such great tours… Tonight you can catch a few forerunners of 2000s emo at Waiting Room. The Early November will be here slinging its older, Drive Thru-brand of passionate pop-punk (“Ever So Sweet” and “I Want to Hear You Sad” immediately come to mind), as well as some newer, polished pop-rock tunes. Joining them this evening are the ever-ethereal Lydia (“This is Twice Now” comes to mind) and Restorations’ Gaslight Anthem-y jams. The show is $17 bucks and doors are at 7pm. All ages too, in case any underage readers are scoping out the blog.

THICK WINTER BLUD Releases Music Video for “Garden Face”

May 26, 2015

Wondering what to do with all of those leftover Memorial Day condiments? Take a page out of THICK WINTER BLUD‘s book – they made the best of their surplus in the music video for the new song, “Garden Face.” TWB excels at keeping things simple; think the best parts of I Can See Mountains mixed with ear-candy pop rock along the lines of Third Eye Blind or Guilt Show-era The Get Up Kids. There’s also a subtle “Banana Phone” reference… For all you Ebaumsworld alumni.

The Slums Debut New Song “Craw”

May 18, 2015

Something about the word “craw” reminds me of The Slums – it’s almost as if I can envision them using the word regularly in conversation. Regardless, I think we’ll all be seeing the word “craw” around more often now. Fresh off their show with PILE this Sunday, The Slums have pumped out another half-hardcore, half-garage rock anthem. These dudes have been buzzin’ around town for just about a year now – articles and blogs are mentioning The Slums at every turn. If you’re late to hop on the bandwagon, imagine the dirtiest, sludgiest rock song from the 1950s with a whirling dervish for a front man… I hope that’s an apt enough description. “Craw,” the lead single off the band’s upcoming summer album, is available for your streaming pleasure below. Enjoy.

Tonight: Lazlo Hollyfeld

May 15, 2015

Every once in a while Buffalonians get together for a true Harvestsum banger. Tonight is that night. Resident xylophone-toting instrumental rockers, Lazlo Hollyfeld, are going to be bringing it home tonight. Don’t forget the quiet crush of Applennium, the fuzzy garage pop of Johnny Nobody, or the intelligent musings of Alex Berkley & co. Mohawk Place is the place to be. 8:00pm is the magical hour – make sure you bring $5 for admission. Also, bring your friends. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/175635118″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

The Maine w/ Knuckle Puck

May 1, 2015

One might start to wonder if the Maine are still “fresh to death” having been around for close to 10 years now. Once emo-laced pop punkers, they’ve come to embrace a more straightforward rock sound in the 2010s. That hasn’t stopped them from touring with a cavalcade of buzzing pop punkers including Knuckle Puck, Real Friends, and The Technicolors. The show tonight is at the Waiting Room, but you might be out of luck because the tickets are reportedly sold out. Here is some information anyways: Doors are at 6pm, and the show is 16+.

Well Kept Things Sign to Antique Records, Release First Single

April 21, 2015

The Buffalo pop-punk/emo scene is still smarting from the loss of bands like I Can See Mountains and All Blondes Go To Heaven. If you’ve been unsure of where to get your next fix, Well Kept Things is where you should look next. The quartet specializes in passionate pop-punk, with lyrics falling somewhere between neurosis and a heart-on-your-sleeve confessional. The Buffalo-based four piece has recently inked a deal with Antique Records, and will be releasing its debut EP, Homegrown, in both digital and in 7″ formats on June 16th. Listen to the first single, “Great White North,” below. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/184229875″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Just Announced: Pity Sex

April 20, 2015

I’ve been yearning for this one for a while. The fuzzrocious emogazers in Pity Sex will be joining us on Sunday, July 5th, for a night of noise at Mohawk Place. Pity Sex is a great example of what the recent emo revival has to offer. Between gigantic guitars and lilting male/female vocals, PS sounds like what would happen if the Pixies discovered a big muff. Joining the bill are fellow shoegazers (albeit of the hardcore variety) Ceremony and solo act Tony Molina. Mohawk is the place to be. Tickets go on sale this Friday at noon.

Del Paxton Releases Split on Topshelf Records

April 14, 2015

At long last, Del Paxton‘s split with Gulfer is out on Topshelf Records. Anyone who follows buffaBLOG has surely seen our coverage of Del Paxton (starting when the group clinched the award for #1 local song of 2013 with “Motion Sick”). With only an EP to its name thus far, we’ve been eager to get our hands on some new stuff from the mathy/emo three piece. “Paline” showcases the spiraling guitar that we’ve come to love/expect from Del Paxton. Having been to half a dozen (+) Del Paxton shows, it is a pleasure to finally hear a studio version. In fact, if Death Cab for Cutie had any angst left in them, “Paline” might be the result… I’d like to find the musician who can deny the true joy of bassist Zach Schoedel’s funky riff at the one minute mark. “Bad Batch” starts with one of those impossibly noodly riffs[...]

Tonight: Tigers Jaw

April 6, 2015

If you love punk or emo music and you haven’t indulged in the Tigers Jaw discography yet, shame on you. Their latest album, the very intimate sounding Charmer, made a slew of best-of-2014 lists (including my own).T he Scranton-based band self-describes as what would happen if Fleetwood Mac and Brand New had an angsty little child (with great pop sensibility). If you’d like to know more, fellow buffaBLOGGER Ronald Walczyk conducted an excellent interview with frontman Ben Walsh that you can access here. Tonight’s openers include the buzzing melodipunks in Somos and Buffalo indie-rock royalty, Lemuria. Doors are at 7pm, $15 at the door.

Alvvays

April 1, 2015

The Decemberists are in town tonight, making a triumphant third return to UB’s Center for the Arts. Guests will be treated to the Mainstage Theater’s wonderful acoustics (not to mention the comfortable chairs), but one of the biggest treats of the night will come from opening band, Alvvays. Alvvays excels at swimmy, reverb-laden tracks that have more in common with the beach than their snowy hometown of Toronto. Nevertheless, the group’s self-titled debut was highly praised, having made many best-of 2014 lists. Singer Molly Rankin is a true delight – her voice a combination of innocence (a la fellow v-ers CHVRCHES) and mature, glassy-eyed indifference. Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard called lead single, “Archie, Marry Me,” his favorite song of the year (but the verdict is still out on whether Ben and Decemberists singer Colin Meloy are actually doppelgangers). Unfortunately for those of you who don’t have tickets, tonight’s performance[...]